Chapter 12: Life is Always Unfair.
Chapter 12: Life is Always Unfair.
Clang!
The clear resonance of metal echoed as a silver flash streaked across my vision.
Simultaneously, I felt the recoil of steel clashing against steel vibrate through the hand holding my Pry Bar. The strike had been parried by a shimmering silver sword.
The blade that blocked my attack plunged into the ground, radiating an imposing presence.
A sword?
Is it Hero reinforcements?
The moment I realized my attack had failed, I sensed something flying toward me and immediately threw myself backward.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
A hwando consisting of only a blade and a hilt.
A cavalry charge lance.
An unnervingly long dagger.
A mace studded with sharp spikes.
A two-handed sword shaped like a kitchen knife.
A chaotic, mismatched rain of weapons fell, chasing after me.
"Whoa. He dodged that?"
"Don't let your guard down, Baek Si-hyun. That thing is an absolute monster."
Looking up toward the voices, I saw two figures standing atop a building, silhouetted against the rising sun.
A winged humanoid creature and a woman wearing a navy coat over a white cape.
Her outfit looked more like a transformation Hero’s suit or a set of formal tails than a Magical Girl's costume, but something else caught my eye.
The Silver Hammer held in one hand. It sparkled as it reflected the sunlight, and unlike the weapons she had thrown haphazardly, she gripped this one tightly as if it were her primary tool.
"You said I could win!"
"...I didn't realize it was that kind of monster."
"Ugh, whatever. I'll find out once I fight it myself."
She leaped from the building's roof, landing beside Han A-bin.
She demonstrated a textbook landing, using telekinesis with practiced ease to decelerate just before hitting the ground.
"Are you okay?"
"Who... who are you?"
"Baek Si-hyun! I don't have a Hero name yet."
She introduced herself while scanning Han A-bin from head to toe.
"You're pretty beat up. Let me heal you."
"I'm fine. I can heal myself..."
Before Han A-bin could finish, crimson mana surged out and enveloped her body.
The healing was rapid.
New skin sprouted, and the bleeding stopped. Mangled flesh filled back in, and she regained the ability to move her hands.
Though a slight tremor remained and the bone that had pierced the skin was still out of place, it was more than passing marks for emergency treatment.
And above all, it was fast.
Han A-bin was stunned by this high-level healing ability, but the girl only wore an apologetic expression.
"Sorry... I can't do much about the broken leg."
She bowed her head, looking genuinely sorry.
"It's okay. I can move well enough with this."
"Good."
Having finished the treatment, the Magical Girl turned her gaze back to me.
"Thanks for waiting."
"Where did you learn to look away while standing in front of an enemy?"
"I had a feeling you'd wait. Besides, I didn't sense an incoming attack."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Who knows?"
She looked at me with a bright, playful smile.
"I like everything else, but your hair color and your weapon are a bit of a turn-off."
"If you're going to call yourself a Hero, show me your skills instead of critiquing my appearance."
"Fine by me!"
She didn't seem inclined to wait any longer either. She adjusted her grip on The Hammer and lunged at me.
It was a simple, unremarkable charge. Her handling of The Hammer was a mess, so I intended to neutralize her by thrusting my Pry Bar straight forward.
Clang!
How?
Even if I was only using a fraction of my released power, a thrust faster than the opponent's charge speed had been blocked.
No, "blocked" wasn't quite the right word.
Her hammer had moved faster than my own motion, as if she had predicted exactly where my Pry Bar would be.
The seemingly meaningless movement of her hammer was, from the start, a maneuver to reach the point where my Pry Bar would land and parry it upward.
I spun the parried Pry Bar, pulling it back quickly to aim the sharp tip at her arm.
Thump.
"Tsk."
Blocked by telekinesis.
Clicking my tongue, I kicked off her and leaped backward to create distance. She had anticipated that too, blocking the kick with her hammer, but since my goal was to retreat anyway, the block didn't matter.
Landing back a distance away, I corrected my posture and thought.
The difference in our physical specs is too great. Normally, I could overcome this with speed and feints, but as long as all my moves are being read, that won't work.
I already miss my hammer. If it's just simple defense like that, I could just crush her with raw strength.
After organizing my thoughts, I looked at my opponent, who was swinging her hammer at the air with a dissatisfied expression.
It was the face of someone frustrated that things weren't going their way. The look that appears when something that should be a guaranteed success fails. It was a face I had definitely seen somewhere before.
Specifically, someone with a very particular type of superpower or magic...
"Is it precognition?"
"...I don't know what you're talking about."
Her words said one thing, but her pupils shook and her tone shifted.
She's clumsy at hiding her expressions for someone with that much power.
She said her name was Baek Si-hyun?
The name Baek Si-hyun, with powers including weapon manifestation, telekinesis, precognition, and healing magic.
I remember hearing this somewhere.
Searching my memory for a moment, the contents of the documents I had seen earlier came to mind.
...Is she my disciple?
There was no photo in the file, so I was slow to realize.
Once that clicked, other questions surfaced.
She only awakened a day ago. No, it was yesterday, so this is her second day? And a Hero like that can handle her power this freely?
Her handling of The Hammer was a bit shaky, but that's likely because it's a technical skill unrelated to her raw power.
She used telekinesis with enough precision to adjust her jump speed and defend herself, and she manifested several Type S of weapons in rapid succession.
And what about the precognition?
According to colleagues with Future Foresight, when they first get their powers, the present and future overlap, making it quite disorienting. Yet, this Magical Girl predicted the trajectory of my Pry Bar and blocked two attacks.
Two attacks that could have led to serious injury if mishandled. Despite that, she didn't doubt herself and took the optimal action according to her power.
Boldly and accurately, as if she believed she couldn't possibly be hurt. Even if you know the future, it's not easy to be that daring.
...She's a genius. What was my first mission like?
I couldn't even control my strength and ended up leveling the surrounding buildings.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to attack?"
She seemed unnerved by me staring at her in silence, her voice laced with irritation as she swung her hammer.
"Why don't you come at me?"
"I don't want to!"
What is she talking about? She was the one who charged in earlier.
I observed her behavior for a moment.
She held a stance, spinning her hammer to respond to any attack. At a glance, it seemed meaningless, but weapons were repeatedly manifesting and vanishing behind her.
...I see.
It seems she can't see a future where I attack or defend.
In that case, it's not multiple-path precognition that shows every possible future, but a type that predicts the single most optimal path.
She may be a genius, but she's still green.
Precognition isn't perfect; it's merely a support tool. Relying on it so blindly will surely lead to a grave injury one day.
I suppose I should teach her a lesson.
I rested the Pry Bar on my shoulder and shouted loudly.
"Han A-bin!"
"Yes!"
The Magical Girl, startled by her name being called, stiffened and reflexively answered.
"Take the civilian and get out of here. I can't guarantee what will happen to this area."
I surged my power.
How long has it been? Even if I have to keep my full power sealed, it's been a while since I've partially released my emotion limiter.
I've been having a hard time controlling my emotions lately anyway; I might as well let them all out here.
Now then.
Let's enjoy this.
Boom!
The sound of a shockwave rippled through the air, and a sense of liberation flooded my body.
Creeak. Screeech.
The shockwaves radiating from my body pulverized the surrounding asphalt. Amplified physical force shook the nearby buildings.
Shatter!
As the foundations of the buildings warped, windows began to burst.
Wail—!
—Citizens, this is the Hero Management Bureau. Otherworldly Power has been detected. This is an actual attack warning. Please evacuate from all areas where this siren can be heard.
—Repeating the announcement...
Fortunately, it seems the power I release in this form is classified as Otherworldly. Now that the alarm has been raised, I don't have to worry about the surroundings.
"What... what kind of ability is that, Lin?"
"...It may be hard to believe, but it's simple physical force. The mere aftermath of his body moving even slightly."
Correct.
The energy radiating through my skin becomes shockwaves, and the movement of a single muscle affects the environment.
The absolute limit of pure physical reinforcement, reached by a Magical Girl who possessed no magic and had to rely on her wits.
She watched the pebbles that kept floating up and falling back to the ground, her face turning pale.
"It's not ki or something like that?"
"One can perform similar feats with mana or ki, but even then, one would have to reach the absolute pinnacle. That Mutant reached it through pure physical ability alone."
The floating mascot glanced at me and added, "Though even this doesn't look like his full power is released."
"Does that even make sense?"
"That's why I called him a monster."
I spoke toward them.
"You're free to run."
I whispered as softly as possible to prevent more shockwaves, but to their ears, it must have sounded like a thunderous roar.
The girl, covering her ears with her free hand, looked humiliated, her expression turning fierce.
"Don't get cocky! I am Baek Si-hyun! I'm the Magical Girl who's going to take you down, Black Marauder, and bring peace!"
A laugh bubbled up at those overly theatrical words.
It seems my disciple has the courage and competitive spirit not to run away even in this situation.
I like it.
Today is a good day. To see a Hero I like and a disciple I'm proud of.
"I'll wait a moment."
"Why?"
"The civilians need time to evacuate, don't they?"
"...I didn't think a Mutant would care about civilians."
"I told the Magical Girl who ran off with the civilian earlier—my only interest is in Heroes."
"How strange. It'll be hard for the Otherworldly Power to consume this world like that."
"I couldn't care less about that. All I want is to redefine the justice of Heroes."
I will say it as many times as it takes.
I am only here to set justice right and ensure the name of "Hero" isn't twisted.
That is all.
"Isn't the replication a bit too perfect, Lin?"
"The Otherworld probably didn't expect this either. Since they replicated him so close to the original, it seems even his personality and sense of justice were copied. Though the direction seems to have warped."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about your original, Crimson★Hammer. She's quite a righteous person herself."
I am the original.
"That's why I don't like it. Whose face do you think you're wearing?"
Something about this conversation is getting weird.
"So, you're saying Crimson★Hammer-sama is so noble that she stays like that even when tainted by the Otherworldly Power, right Lin?"
"...I've heard that story from you so many times I'm sick of it."
...Wait, is she my fan? I can't believe this nightmare is actually happening.
Thirty years as a Hero.
I never imagined I'd end up in a situation this pathetic.
I thought I'd seen the peak of embarrassment after my appearance got stuck like this, but something even worse just happened right in front of me.
To hear someone praising me to my face.
And she seems to be such a devotee that she's making up weird stories.
Noble? Who?
Shame welled up inside me.
I couldn't suppress my emotions. At this rate, my power was going to go out of control.
"Let's end this quickly."
Because I didn't hold back my voice, a massive shockwave erupted.
Baek Si-hyun, taking the brunt of the shockwave, hardened her expression and raised her weapon.
Whether she saw what I was about to do through precognition or not, several layers of floating shields manifested in the air.
"Amateur."
Thoom!
As I kicked off the ground to lunge forward, the building behind me swayed.
A sight common in the old era, when we lived as neighbors to ruin.
In an instant, I closed the gap and appeared before Baek Si-hyun, swinging my Pry Bar.
She didn't even perceive me.
Her gaze remained fixed on the spot where I had just been, and her hammer wandered toward a meaningless space.
She couldn't track me with her eyes, but she must have identified the point of impact through precognition, as her shields were lined up in front of my Pry Bar.
As expected, amateurish.
Crunch—!
The multiple layers of shields couldn't withstand the impact of the Pry Bar and were crushed simultaneously.
The current her could never block this Pry Bar.
Only then did she perceive me, her hammer moving beneath the shields in an attempt to block my attack.
Even that kind of defense could be ignored with my current strength. With this one strike, I could crush her body flat.
However, what I was doing now was meant to be a lesson, not an execution.
I stopped the Pry Bar instantly and grabbed her arm with my left hand.
Snap.
The sensation of her bones shattering traveled up my hand.
The feeling of a sturdy rod snapping. Her right arm crumbled within my grip.
"Ugh...!"
She hadn't even predicted this move, failing to react at all. It was a very simple feint. She hadn't even perceived it.
"If you're a precognition user, you should be prepared for attacks that fall outside your vision."
It's the same principle as where you focus your eyes.
If you focus your gaze on one spot, other areas become blind spots.
Even if you can see the future, if you don't pay attention to it, it's the same as not seeing it at all.
It is a human limitation that even a precognition user cannot overcome.
Though she stifled her scream, she couldn't endure the pain of her mangled arm, collapsing on the spot while clutching her broken limb.
Yet, the hostility burning in her eyes as she glared at me—was it from a sense of justice, or a desire for revenge?
Rumble...
The buildings in the trajectory of my Pry Bar's swing collapsed. They couldn't withstand the shockwave.
The Hero Management Bureau must be in an uproar. It's been a long time since there's been destruction on this scale. They'll be panicking, frantically tapping away at their calculators.
"We'll stop here for today."
"Why...?"
"Because my work is done."
I broke three of a Hero’s limbs and devastated a portion of the city center. It's enough of a ripple to send through society.
Today's incident will draw more eyes to the Black Marauder, but that's also what I wanted.
It's different from what I expected, but this is enough.
As I turned to leave, Baek Si-hyun glared at me with a look of pure hatred.
"One day... I'll take you down."
"Sure."
"Do you know who my master is? It's Crimson★Hammer! One day, I'll surpass you and—"
I need to get out of here before I have to hear any more.